


Say That You'll Hold Me Forever

by Immortal_Enby_Archivist



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Canon Nonbinary Character, Couch Cuddles, Fluff, I cannot emphasise enough how much fluff is in this fic, Idiots in Love, Juno Steel is in Love, Napping, No angst within 500 miles of this fix, No beta we die like Croesus Kanagawa, Other, POV First Person, POV Juno Steel, Peter Nureyev is in Love, They're in love and happy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, so many cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28163352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Immortal_Enby_Archivist/pseuds/Immortal_Enby_Archivist
Summary: It's a lazy day, and Juno and Nureyev spend it like they do most of the time: together, invading each other's personal space
Relationships: Peter Nureyev/Juno Steel
Comments: 8
Kudos: 76





	Say That You'll Hold Me Forever

**Author's Note:**

> No content warnings apply.  
> Title is from All I've Ever Known, from the musical Hadestown.

On lazy days, the crew would find us more often than not tangled together on the couch.  
The initial embarrassment faded pretty quickly, as everyone became accustomed to our ritual.  
Vespa would still mutter something about giving her diabetes every time she saw us, but nobody ever told us to stop, so... we didn't.

My name is Juno Steel, and after 40 years of isolation and emotional barriers, it appeared I could never get enough of invading Nureyev's personal space.

"I'm beginning to fear you might be turning into a koala."

I looked at him with a puzzled expression. I was sitting in his lap, arms wrapped around his neck as his hands rubbed my back softly. "What?" 

"You don't seem to be able to resist more than a minute without physical contact."

I glared at him. "Hey!"

"Shall we test it, then?"

He made a movement as if to stand up; I tightened my grip around his neck, using my body weight to hold him down. "Nope. You're not going anywhere."

He laughed, kissing my forehead. "I count this as damning evidence of my theory."

I pouted, hiding my face on his shoulder. "You're so mean."

"Mhm~"

"Making fun of your lady because he wants to be with you." 

"Is that so?"

"With no regards for his feelings and his affection."

"Oh, poor baby." I could _feel_ Nureyev's playful tease in the tone of his voice. "Mercilessly bullied by the big bad thief, his love ignored-" 

"Ransom..." 

"-taunted-" 

"Ransom-"

"- _scorned_."

I pulled away from his shoulder to glare at him with a scowl. "Ransom!"

He was far gone in his dramatic monologue. The corners of his lips were quivering with the effort of holding back laughter; he brought a hand to his forehead, dramatically. "Oh, won't somebody rescue him from this cruel brute, before his very heart is torn in two?"

I playfully shoved his chest away. "Stop it!"

He finally broke down, his face scrunching before erupting in boisterous laughter. "I'm... Oh, I'm sorry, my dear detective." He wiped a tear from his face, pressing the palm of his hand on my burning cheek. "It's just so entertaining to tease you, you always have the loveliest reactions."

I pressed my hand on his, trying to glare at him as convincingly as I could while nuzzling against his palm. "Honestly, I don't even know why I bother with you."

"Honestly." He echoed teasingly, gently thumbing my face. "I'm insufferable, aren't I?"

"Yeah." 

"I should learn to respect you."

"My thoughts exactly." 

"And accept you for the cuddling-fueled machine you are."

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

"And in the future I should definitely not shut you up with a tickle attack."

"I'm glad we feel the- wait, what?"

Before I could fully process what Nureyev had said, his lips found my neck and blew raspberries on it.  
I was a giggling mess in no time. I pressed my hands against his chest, to try and push him away, but his strong arms were holding me into place. So I was trapped there, writhing and laughing.

Once he finally got bored, he planted a kiss on my neck, lifting himself up to smile at me. "You're always so cranky, surely you won't blame me for using any means necessary to hear your gorgeous laughter."

I blushed, burying my face in his chest. "You're gorgeous." I blurted out, words muffled by the fabric of Nureyev's shirt.

Gentle fingers dug into my hair, as he circled my hips with one arm, pushing me closer to him. "How about a little change of position?"

I blinked with a quizzing look on my face.  
He rolled over and pushed me on the couch, blocking me under him with his full body weight.

"Hey!" I protested, thrashing unenthusiastically against his hold. "Let me go."

If I had meant it, he would have immediately complied, with a flashing smile and a heartfelt apology. But he knew me too well to not notice the warmth in my cheeks, the smile ghosting on my lips, and the way my hands clutched his shirt, as if to keeping him from leaving.

"I'm afraid that's one request I cannot fulfil, my dear detective." He spoke in a fake solemn tone, prepping himself up with one elbow, as his other hand stroked my cheek. "Besides, isn't this what you wanted? You didn't want me to leave, so I'm not." He bent down to kiss me.

"You won't get away with it so easily." I breathed against his lips, one hand raised to caress his cheek.

"But, darling..." He flipped us, so that I was lying on top of him, "... I already have."

I yelped at the change, clinging to Nureyev's chest as he laughed. I could feel his torso expand and shake with the rumble of laughter. "Oh, you're so pretty when you're taken aback."

I sat up on his hips, hands resting on his chest. "I'll show you 'taken aback'." I leaned down, crashing my lips against his. I could feel his surprise turn into bliss, as he wrapped his arms and legs around me, enveloping me in his warmth.

Like any kiss I ever shared with Peter Nureyev, it ended way too soon, even if our lips were swollen and our heads were light. I rested my head on his chest, hearing his heart beat through his shirt. He ran a hand through my hair.

"You know what's my favorite place in the whole universe?"

"A jewellery store without alarms?"

He laughed again. "Anywhere with you in my arms."

I nuzzled against his chest, praying that he couldn't feel the heat on my cheeks. "You're so corny, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Forgive a lovestruck fool's ramblings."

A moment of quiet. "You know, it's funny you should mention that."

"Hm? How so?"

"Because my favorite place just so happens to be in your arms."

His hand stopped moving, and I was seized by the irrational fear of having done something wrong.

"And I'm the corny one, Juno?"

I closed my eye, hands grasping at his shirt. "Shut up."

"You're as cheesy as I am, my grumpy lady."

"Yeah, right. In your dreams."

He resumed petting me, one hand going up and down my back. "You are my dreams, love."

I opened my eye and lifted up my head to look at him. "Damn, Ransom, that was the textbook definition of cheesy. Where did you get that pick up line, a cereal box?"

He feigned shock. "How curt! I'm embarking on the daunting quest to find a way to define the undefined, to summarise infinity, to explain my feelings with the limited vocabulary our language has to offer, to-"

This time I was the one laughing. I held a hand to my mouth, making absolutely no effort to stifle back my chuckling. "You're too much."

When he didn't answer, my eye darted to his face, to see what was wrong. He was looking at me with the softest expression on his face: like he had lived all his life in darkness and was only now showered in the Sun's warm light. "You're so pretty, Juno. How lucky was I to end up with you?"

I blushed hard, because even after all this time, I couldn't fully comprehend how Nureyev could possibly have fallen for a mess like me. "You tell me, I managed to score the best boyfriend I could possibly ask for."

He kissed the top of my head. "Flatterer."

We cuddled for a while longer, before my eyelid started fluttering shut more often than not. I snuggled against Nureyev, and judging from the way his grip was loosening slightly, I could guess he was in the same state.

I peacefully drifted off, feeling content and completely safe.

§§§

When I opened my eye, Nureyev was petting my hair; a quick glimpse at his face revealed that he was staring lovingly at me, a stupidly sweet smile on his lips. "Hello, there."

I rubbed my eye, resting my chin on my folded hands. "Look at us. Napping in the middle of the afternoon like kids."

"Do you mind?"

I lifted a hand to stroke his face. "Not at all."

He caught my hand in his, and gently brought it to his lips, kissing its back. There was something about the way he did it: the reverential look in his face, his eyes fluttering closed... It reminded me of those old Earth stories of knights, ladies and courtship, and it made me weak every time. My knight in stolen armor.

I was overcome all at once by a wave of love so powerful, I could barely breathe. There he was: the man of my dreams, looking at me like I was his Muse, treating me like I was his most prized and delicate possession. How could he possibly find a human wreckage like me... attractive? Loveable? 

No, Steel, you're not going to fall back into self loathing. Not after you worked so hard to get out of that spiral. 

"I'm in love with you." I murmured, affectionally thumbing his lips.

Nureyev chuckled. "Well, I hope you are, otherwise it would be pretty awkward."

"But I am!" My gaze softened. "I truly am, and I'll keep saying it again, and again, until I lose my voice and every star burns out."

He tried to keep his cool demeanor, but his eyes were glistening. "Oh, Juno... I'm in love with you too. With your face, your sense of humor, your petulance... All of you. And I will never get tired of telling you all the million ways I love you."

"Ugh, I think I'm gonna be sick."

We turned our head towards the person who just talked, in synch. I rolled my eye at Vespa. 

"Uh, excuse me, we're kind of in the middle of something here."

"You're in the common room, you should expect people bothering you!"

"I think young love should be able to blossom freely." Jet intervened, a deep-seated fondness coating his words. "They bring light and warmth in this ship."

Rita simply opened her mouth and emitted a high-pitched squeal that was probably some creature's mating call.

"Darlings, would you mind scooting over? The stream is about to start, and we all have to fit on that couch."

Buddy was right, so after one last kiss, Nureyev and I sat up.

His hand brushed mine as the commercials ended, and our fingers interlocked.  
And as I glanced at my family gathered together, cuddling and making small talk, I felt truly safe and loved.


End file.
